Page 30 of Not the Puck Bunny

Her nose wrinkled adorably. “I suppose that's expected of women like me. Find a nice man who works in an office, and have babies. Spend the rest of my life organizing charity galas and having tea parties with other women like me. For added excitement, maybe the occasional fling with a hot pool boy.”

“You don't want any of that?” I asked. She seemed weary.

She sighed and looked back out at the waves. “I used to think I did. I used to think other people's expectations of me were accurate.”

“And now?” Was this the source of her sadness the other night? “You've decided you want to give it all up and go to work on a fishing boat?”

She glanced back at me and laughed. “That's strangely specific, but no. I don't think I'd make a very good deckhand. I'd want to throw all the fish back.”

“I can imagine you doing that. Scooping them all up one by one and throwing them overboard.” I mimed throwing a fish.

“Until the rest of the crew throw me overboard.” She mimed grabbing someone and tossing them sideways.

“Only to be rescued by the next passing boat,” I said. “Maybe a luxury yacht.”

Her smile faded. “Maybe I'd prefer a small rowboat with chipped paint to a luxury yacht.” Her gaze lingered on me.

“If your type isn't an executive who wears a suit every day, you might prefer a regular guy.” Was I trying to suggest I was her type? Was I a chipped paint kind of guy? I was rough around the edges at the best of times. On the outside and the inside.

“Come with me,” I said. I got to my feet and held out my hand to her.

She hesitated, but took it and let me help her stand before letting it go again. For that brief moment, her skin was warm on mine, fingers small and elegant. A contrast to my big hands and rough, calloused skin.

I wanted to lace my fingers in hers and lead her to the sidewalk that ran along the edge of the beach. Instead, I kept my hands by my sides and walked with her.

Something about this, walking side by side, felt natural. Normal. Like we'd done this a million times before. No one we passed looked twice at us. No one stopped to remind us she was my boss and weshouldn't be walking like this on a Thursday afternoon.

If they had, I wouldn't give a shit anyway.

“What are we doing?” she asked when we stopped on the edge of the Lowball Bay Pier.

“That's up to you,” I said. “We can get some cotton candy and see if I can win you a giant teddy bear. Or we could go on the Ferris wheel. Or,” I gave her a challenging look, complete with a raised eyebrow, “we could go on the rollercoaster.”

“Rollercoaster, without doubt,” she said with no hesitation.

“You like a wild ride?” I knew she wouldn't miss the innuendo.

Her face turned pink, all the way up to her ears. She was so stinking adorable I could have kissed her then and there. My gaze tracked her tongue as it slid across her lower lip.

This woman.

“I've never been on the rollercoaster before,” she said. “I've always stuck to the safe rides.” Yeah, she was definitely not just talking about amusement rides.

“Then it's time to do something different,” I said.

I led her over to the ticket booth and bought two tickets before she could insist on buying her own.She was going to, I saw it on her face, but I was doing this for her.

Okay, for myself too. I'd lived in Lowball Bay for a handful of years and I never rode the rollercoaster either. What took me so long? I didn't know. Maybe I was waiting for the right moment. The fact it was now, with her, was a coincidence. Right? Yep, definitely.

“I'll buy the cotton candy after we ride,” she said. “Unless you lose your lunch.” It was her turn to give me a challenging look.

“Me?” I poked myself in the chest with my thumb. “Not gonna happen. You might lose yours.”

“Mine is staying exactly where it is.” She patted her belly.

We stepped over to the gate and I gave our tickets to the attendant. Tall and slender, he made eyes at Andi until I glared at him. She was riding me…Withme.

He opened the gate and let us through.

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